RALEIGH, N.C. - Donna Rincon once needed the help of Angels On A Mission, the food closet at Lighthouse Christian Fellowship. Little did she know that she'd find herself leading the food ministry before too long.

Some say First Presbyterian Church is the oldest church in Gardner; it certainly is one of the oldest. And 150 years later, amid competition from megachurches and the growing secularization of American society, First Presbyterian has been energized by a new pastor who is committed to its mission of love and caring.

Pope Francis is insisting that the Catholic Church be open and inclusive to all and that priests in particular be merciful and patient so that everyone can “participate actively in the life of the community.”

The defamation lawsuit was filed against a national Catholic organization by a former altar boy whose sex abuse case was part of a $10 million settlement with the Kansas City diocese. Jon David Couzens sued Bill Donohue and the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights in 2013.

A fire destroyed the Evangelistic Center Church at 1024 Truman Road in Kansas City on Nov. 13. After its first Sunday service since the fire, Senior Pastor John Crane said he wants his congregation to know they'll be OK and they will be able to continue their influence and outreach in Kansas City.

After slicing beef carcasses, digging ditches, whatever, the Irish at the turn of the last century trudged home to shoulder stone, mortar, heavy beams up ladders to build the Sacred Heart Church at 2544 Madison.

The Rev. Anthony Kiplagat, a priest of the Diocese of Eldoret in Kenya, had been assigned to parishes in Osage City and Scranton, Kan., after serving in Roeland Park and Olathe. He left the U.S. after the archdiocese received a complaint against him.

The candles and prayers are ready. Churches and faith groups such as Kansas City’s Community Christian Church and Leawood-based United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, want to shepherd a divided nation through the rubble of this acrimonious, bitter, divisive election season.

Darryl Burton told the congregation that he was very angry and very upset for many years. But by following Jesus’ teachings, he learned how to forgive and love people he believed hated him, as well as people he hated.

After being wrongly imprisoned for a murder he didn’t commit, Darryl Burton is using his story to preach about the power of hope and forgiveness. Burton served 24 years in prison for the 1984 murder of a St. Louis man but was released in 2008 after courts found his prosecution had been constitutionally flawed. He is now a congregational care pastor at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood.

A Columbia church's lawsuit against the state of Missouri will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The suit alleges the state discriminated against Trinity Lutheran in denying it a grant available to make play areas safer.

American Atheists Inc. has dismissed its lawsuit against Kansas City municipal government. The group had opposed the City Council’s approval in April of $65,000 from the Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund to Modest Miles Ministry Inc. for the National Baptist Convention USA Inc.

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KC diocese clergy at Service of Lament for sexual abuse victims

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A fire destroyed the Evangelistic Center Church at 1024 Truman Road in Kansas City on Nov. 13. After its first Sunday service since the fire, Senior Pastor John Crane said he wants his congregation to know they'll be OK and they will be able to continue their influence and outreach in Kansas City.

Robert A. CronkletonThe Kansas City Star

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Senior pastor believes church will be OK, probably stronger after devastating fire

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Darryl Burton gives sermon at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood